


that slow burn wait when it gets dark

by starkmccall



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Kissing, Multi, Post-Season/Series 01, Spin the Bottle, deeply undernegotiated teenage polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24379471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkmccall/pseuds/starkmccall
Summary: She puts a hand to his face before he can reach her though. “Rules, John B.” She tilts her head to the bottle on the ground. “You shall only kiss who the bottle decides you shall kiss.”The Pogues play spin the bottle. It gets a bit emotional.
Relationships: Sarah Cameron/JJ/Kiara/Pope/John B. Routledge
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	that slow burn wait when it gets dark

**Author's Note:**

> here i am, with possibly the only outer banks fic nobody asked for!!!!!! unfortunately this show is the only show i have ever watched where i am genuinely capable of multi-shipping, so naturally i just decided they should all kiss each other, and that is basically all this is. i'll probably end up writing more in this verse when i'm not completely drowning in work lmao, but for now here this is i guess!!!!!!! also this takes place in a sort of hand-wavey post-s1 verse where everything is settled down and luke and rafe are both dead in a ditch somewhere lmao 
> 
> title from a world alone by lorde because i'm gay

It starts in the most cliche way possible: a game of spin the bottle.

Sarah’s the one who suggests it - she’s half-joking but JJ gets on board right away, and Kie rolls her eyes in that way where you know she’s already been won over, and Pope shrugs his shoulders, so it’s not like John B can say no anyway. Sarah downs the rest of her drink, one of those sugary Cruisers that they all pretend to hate for the sake of their reputation, and places the bottle in the middle. She spins it, and they all watch it go round and round and round, until it lands on - JJ.

“Huh.” JJ says. “I mean Sarah, I know I’m gorgeous and the chemistry between us is undeniable, but if you wanted to make out with me I think it’d be better to not do it right in front of your boy-“ Sarah puts a hand to his cheek and he stops, just like that. John B gets it. Being that close to her can do that.

They stare at each other for a moment, seemingly silently daring the other to make the first move, and then Sarah tilts her head and kisses him, easy. It’s not how John B thought it would be. Not that he’s spent much time dedicated to the thought of his girlfriend kissing one of his best friends but - it doesn’t feel like he thinks it probably should. He isn’t angry or jealous, he’s just warm all over, a bit shivery. And yeah, it is North Carolina, so being warm is basically a legal requirement, but - whatever. His girlfriend’s hot, JJ’s hot, it makes sense that them kissing doesn’t produce disgust deep in his soul, or something.

(There’s also the small matter of - well - he has personal experience with kissing both of them. He knows exactly how Sarah’s mouth feels against his own, but he also knows the feeling of JJ’s hand in his hair. It was never - a thing, really. They just spent a lot of time together, and lived together, and would sometimes sleep in the same bed and put their hands down each other's pants. It’s not a big deal. It’s definitely not something John B thinks about regularly, and is definitely not something he is thinking about right now.)

Sarah pulls away after a moment. JJ’s got the same stupid wide smile he gets when he’s blazed on his face, the slightest sheen of pink lip gloss on his mouth. John B knows he’s not the only one staring at it - Kie and Pope both have the same dumbstruck look on their face. Sarah grins at him, a quiet, secretive smile, and John B can’t help but smile back, lean in to kiss her.

She puts a hand to his face before he can reach her though. “Rules, John B.” She tilts her head to the bottle on the ground. “You shall only kiss who the bottle decides you shall kiss.”

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes, and idly spins the bottle, ignoring JJ’s cries of “hey, it’s my turn!” It lands on Pope, which - look, it’s not like he’s never thought about it, okay? Pope’s funny and clever and a bit weird, but in the most engaging way. John B likes listening to him talk, even though he doesn’t understand what he’s saying half the time, and he’s sure he’d also like it if Pope laid him down, put his hands on his waist, or wherever he wanted, and - well. Suffice to say, John B is definitely not averse to kissing him.

Pope looks a little nervous though, so John B takes the initiative for once in his life, crawling over a bit until he’s on his knees in front of him. “Relax.” He says, putting his hand on one of Pope’s and squeezing. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to - it’s just a game, man.”

Pope shakes his head, bites his lip. “No, I - I want to.” His eyes flicker down to John B’s mouth, and it makes him feel the same way watching Sarah and JJ kiss did - warm and shivery. He wants Pope to kiss him, wants him to do more than kiss him, maybe, and he feels bad, because does that count as cheating on Sarah? He’s sure she’s thought about other people too, he’s seen the way her face slackens slightly at JJ taking his shirt off, or Kie stripping off her clothes to reveal her various colourful bikinis, or Pope sweaty after a long day’s work with his dad. So it isn’t a bad thing, right? To want?

He’s so caught up in his own internal monologue that he doesn’t realise Pope’s kissed him until his teeth are biting gently at John B’s lower lip, and holy shit, Pope knows how to kiss. Not that John B thought he couldn’t, but like - it makes him feel like a 50's movies starlet, and Pope is the dashing male lead, and if Kiara could hear his thoughts she would probably write a 10,000 word thesis on the issues with that statement, and she’d absolutely be right, but also holy shit Pope’s tongue is in his mouth. He’s getting less and less tentative as time goes on, and time is probably an important thing to think about - how long do spin the bottle kisses usually last? There probably isn’t like a legally decided measurement, but also time is a flat circle at this point, so it’s not like it really matters anyway. 

If it wasn’t clear - John B really liked kissing Pope. When Pope finally pulls away, he instinctively goes back for another one, and accidentally sort of headbutts him in the nose, which probably isn’t conducive to getting this to happen again, and - fuck. He really does want this to happen again. He looks at Sarah and she looks - happy? Like she knows, but she doesn’t mind. She knows him, in the same way they all do, and it’s scary, but it’s so fucking freeing. 

“Well, I’ve finally kissed all of you.” He says, before he can really think about it. If the revelation about JJ is a surprise to anyone, they don’t show it - Kie has walked in on them in each other’s arms enough times, and Sarah has made a point to joke about their “deeply homoerotic codependent bond” more than once.

“You got me and Sarah beat on that one.” Kie pipes up, and that - that draws attention. “Sorry JJ.”

“You - you and Sarah?” John B asks, swiveling his head between the two of them like a slightly deranged owl. “When?”

Sarah laughs, burying her head in her hands. “We used to, uh - look, I was very repressed, okay? But I used to ask Kie if we could, uh, ‘practice kissing’, for boys.”

“And I went along with it.” Kiara continues, pressing two fingers to the space between her eyebrows in exasperation. “Because I was - stupid, and I had a crush on my best friend, and that was the closest I thought I would ever get to her.” Sarah looks up at her, her eyes bright with tears, and look - John B has never claimed to be a smart guy, alright? In fact, he’s pretty fucking stupid a lot of the time, but it really does not take a genius to realise that they clearly have something they need to work out between them. That all of them have something they need to work out between them, that weird spark that seems to be two seconds from igniting whenever any of them are in the same room.

So: “I think we need a new rule.” John B announces, and they all turn to face them. “Clearly ‘no pogues macking on pogues’ burned and crashed like, spectacularly, so. New rule: all pogues are allowed to mack on pogues. And when I say pogues, I specifically mean this group, because if I find out that you guys are hooking up with people outside of this group - I’m gonna be upset, but I’m also going to recognise that that is your autonomous choice as a human being. Or whatever. So, you know, feel free to - whatever. Or don’t. Is this a shitty idea? Please tell me if you’re all disgusted by it like, right now, so I can stop talking-”

Kie leans across and kisses him to stop him talking, which all things considered is a pretty effective tactic. It doesn’t exactly turn his brains off, but it redirects all his outside talking inside, so at least the only person he’s making him seem like an idiot in front of is himself. She pulls away and kisses Sarah, too, and then JJ, and then Pope for good measure, before shoving her way in between JJ and Sarah. “It’s a good idea, John B.”

JJ clears his throat, staring at her in wonder. “Seconded.”

“Yeah.” Pope says, and John B sees his hand slip into JJ’s waiting grasp. “Yeah, good rule.” 

Sarah’s got her arms wrapped around her knees, her chin resting atop them. John B has to kiss her now, and he does, before pulling away to hug her, even if it is slightly uncomfortable with her knees digging into his chest. “Thank you.” He whispers in her ear, before pulling away.

“For what?” She asks innocently, but her face is sunshine-bright, her hand already reaching across for Kie’s, instinctive. John B loves her, loves all of them, in a way that makes his heart feel too big for his body.

Nothing much changes after that but also - everything changes. They aren’t all over each other in public - the Outer Banks isn’t exactly the most progressive of places, and a budding poly-amorous relationship between five teenagers likely wouldn’t go down well with the traditional rich folk. But when they’re alone - Kie sits on JJ’s lap, and Sarah kisses them both. Pope wins a staring competition with JJ by leaning in to kiss him. John B lies directly on top of Pope in the hammock instead of getting in the other one, burying his face in his neck and refusing to get off. They all lie on the ground together in a pile, even when it gets a little too warm and sweaty to be comfortable, because none of them want to be the first to get up. 

They should talk about it, probably - they talk a lot, about everything, but they’ve never really stopped to iron out the specifics of this particular situation. They all know it can’t last forever - there’s gonna be a day where they’re no longer teenagers, no longer able to live this way without question. But, for now - they’re happy, and that’s all that fucking matters.


End file.
